Do Not Mess with Undertale Fans

Indie RPG Undertale is a rare game because it’s full of heart and subversive humour and because of its excellence, Undertale fans are among the most diehard of any game fans we have ever seen.

Late last year, Undertale fans rallied together and voted-in the game as GameFAQs’ Best Game Ever contest, beating out heavyweights like Chrono Trigger, Smash Bros. Melee, Ocarina of Time and many other games that belong to the Best Games Ever canon. Which isn’t to say that Undertale doesn’t deserve to be in contention, it most certainly does. But it’s still brow-raising that a game, released in September 2015, could lock down the title of Best Game Ever. It could have only been accomplished with the support of a diehard fan base.

Now, the fans are back at it, trying to pump up the cult hit’s reputation, but this time they are hoping to revise history. A Change.org petition was launched not long ago, demanding that Cave Story acknowledge it copied Undertale.

Here’s the thing, there are obvious similarities between both games. Both games feature young protagonists that wake up in mysterious caves and have to fight their way out. There are even certain similarities between character designs. The only problem is…Cave Story was released in 2004. Even though Toby Fox’s game began production approximately two and a half years before its release, it is undeniable that Cave Story beat it to the punch.

Regardless of the timeline, the fans still want reparations from Cave Story’s creators. Here is what they wrote on the petition page:

Undertale is a 10 out of 10 game with many exciting new and fascinating ideas and masterful sound and gameplay design. Unfortunately, certain individuals and games have taken upon themselves to COPY this great work without compensation to Undertale or Toby Fox, its creator.

One such game is the indie game Cave Story which features many substantial similarities to Undertale including long-eared innocent animals, evil flowers, a short, fat smiling person with heterochromatic eyes, comedey relief robots, and many other substantial infringements.

The objective of this petition is to get Cave Story to acknowledge and apologize for copying Undertale and to perhaps compensate players of Cave Story who did not know they were playing a plagarized game.

Even stranger, the petition has received 230 signatures!

Their ability to organize and ignore fact is an important lesson for everyone that may have to deal with Undertale fans in the future: DO NOT MESS WITH THEM.